Sale 130 Preface

Welcome to Sale 130, our second auction for 2022. This sale is held over four days at the NSW State Library in 19 sessions covering 4926 lots, also includes a further 551 lots which are being sold online only in a timed auction ending on the Friday evening 29th July as the twentieth session. The timed online component of the sale includes lots that normally feature in the live room auction. 

Highlights include a previously unseen German New Guinea gold twenty mark 1895A (lot 184) that emanates from an old Austrian collection formed in the 1950s, with some items being purchased from Schlessinger. Following later in the morning of the first day is an extensive offering of historical medals including a Resolution and Adventure medal distributed by Captain James Cook on his second voyage to the Pacific (lot 289) and Royal Humane Society medals for bravery (lots 388-9). World gold coins follow on in the third session after the conclusion of the historical medals. Highlights include Indian mohurs of 1841 and 1882 (lots 680-1), Polish gold coins, including a 25 zlotych of 1817 with Alexander I of Russia as the ruler (this specimen appears to be finer than that illustrated in Freidberg), again from the old Austrian collection (lot 715). Unusually, there are over 40 examples of the Russian Nicholas II fifteen roubles 1897. USA gold includes three high-grade examples of the 1907 (Arabic) St. Gaudens double eagle and a 1907D Liberty head example (lot 786-9). The Australian Commonwealth coins later that afternoon include a 1930 penny and several 1923 halfpennies. In the evening of the first day the highlights are Proclamation coins in gold, a New South Wales holey dollar 1813 (lot 1075) and three NSW dumps (lots 1076-8), followed by Adelaide pounds and Sydney Mint Sovereigns and half sovereigns, ending with a large selection of Imperial gold. 

The second day sees the offering in two and a half sessions of the Hunter Collection, which is a one owner collection of Australian coins, banknotes and related series, a proud achievement for the owner after fifty years of collecting. The late afternoon session offers British gold, silver and bronze coins from various sources as a precursor to the outstanding collection of British proofs 1826-1970 offered in the evening session at 7:30pm 27th July (Catalogue 130B).

The third day commences with world silver and bronze coins in over 600 lots, followed by world and Australian banknotes in the late afternoon and evening. The Russian notes collection formed by Michael Emery is of special note. 

The fourth day commences with ancient coins highlighted by an extremely fine example of a gold double daric of Persia minted under Alexander the Great at Babylon (lot 4107) and an extremely rare gold stater of Antiochus II (lot 4106). Finally, the live in-room auction concludes with the eighteenth and nineteenth sessions, which features Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria including more lots from the Warwick G. Cary Collection. The highlight lot of the eighteenth session is a CB, CMG, DSO group to a senior officer, Brig-Gen J.C.Robertson, Mentioned in Despatches 7 times, who was the third ashore with the Ninth Battalion at the Gallipoli landing and then was wounded at Gallipoli (lot 4832). Also included in this lot are a variety of badges and other militaria from his military service as well as medals and a Memorial Plaque to his brother who was killed at Gallipoli. Another outstanding lot is a DCM group to a POW who escaped in German occupied Belgrade then made his way back to German occupied Greece and finally escaped from there. He was later killed in action serving with M Special Unit in New Guinea (lot 4700). There are also many singles and groups to Navy, Army and Air Force personnel who were POWs or killed in action. The wide variety of militaria includes several tribute awards and sweetheart brooches.  

The timed online only sale features Australian decimal coins, decimal proof coins, featuring hundreds of gold coins from several consignors, followed by cricket memorabilia, miscellaneous documents and finishing with numismatic and other literature.  

On behalf of the company, I would like to thank all our vendors and wish those of you participating good luck with your bidding.

Jim Noble